Day 4: Rest and Planning. Enjoying Ortisei / Urtijëi in Val Gardena, Dolomites

TL:DR: Here’s why I loved Ortisei as a home base. And here is what I recommend you do over a 3 day visit.

Day four was was a rest day. I took the walking trail just above town and used the day to generally scope out and plan the next stage of my trip. I needed to contemplate questions like: where would I stay tomorrow night and the night after that? Did I want to visit Alta Badia or Lago di Braies? A storm was coming in, so how would that impact my hiking schedule? Were there any locations that the storm would miss where I could escape the rain? Should I stay only in the Dolomites, or perhaps consider a trip into Slovenia? (Answer: I went to Slovenia)

Ortisei is a great Val Gardena home base

The main towns in Val Gardena are Ortisei, Santa Cristina, and Selva di Val Gardena.

After reading a few blogs and forums I decided that Ortisei would be best for me. And I can definitely recommend it as a great home base!

Ortisei is the largest of the three main villages in Val Gardena in South Tyrol, Italy. The town center is charming with bars, restaurants, gelato (hello! this is still Italy!), and shops — and, my favorite part: it’s only open to pedestrians. Ortisei is surrounded by mountains and high plateaus, so the views are wonderful in every direction, especially great while walking the pedestrian path just above the city center.

There are three gondola stations in Ortisei that will take you high into the mountain plateaus and the top hiking trails in the region. Ortisei is also served by a shuttle bus system linking the three towns. Most accommodations provide guests with a Val Gardena Mobil Card to use the shuttle system for free. There is also a 3- or 6-day Lift Card available if that makes sense for you (I just paid per ride). All of this makes creating fun point to point hikes across the valley totally do-able. And this is also why Val Gardena is recommended as the best home base for visiting the Dolomites without a car, which I can attest to — I didn’t use my rental car once over my four day stay in Val Gardena.

I have read that Val Gardena can get very congested in the high summer season. I was here in late June (so shoulder season before all the kids get out of school and summer holidays begin), and I did not run into crowds, lines, or traffic.

If you’re visiting the Dolomites during shoulder season, like me, Oritisei is absolutely a great base.

How to Spend a Weekend in Ortisei / Urtijëi in Val Gardena, Dolomites: Top things to do

Hike Seceda and Puez-Odle Nature Park: You know the iconic Dolomites photo of the sheer alpine cliffs on one side and green pastures on the other. Of course you have. It’s part of why you came here in the first place. Go do that hike. It’s fabulous. And if you’re up for it, take some of the surrounding trails less traveled and quickly leave and crowds behind.
Hike Europe’s largest alpine meadow — Alpe di Siusi: Another iconic view is from a trail in Alpe di Siusi overlooking hay huts with three craggy peaks in the distance. That one is good, but really, there are views and more views this entire hike! It’s relatively easy. But it’s fun and also makes for a great eating tour while hopping hutte to hutte while completing one grand walking loop through Europe’s largest alpine meadow!
Explore Ortisei: Ortisei is a charming European mountain town. Like all charming European towns there is a river that runs through it, and the cobblestones streets with interesting architecture and a variety of colors just make you want to walk and wander all day. I recommend exploring the central old town (on Google Maps, you can find central areas by zooming in and looking for the yellow-cream colored areas); walk the Passeggiata Luis Trenker, a trail just above town that has very nice views overlooking Ortisei and to the peaks beyond; eat the food, especially the gelato.